The Accountant (2016)

Is being a mathematical genius really a symptom of Autism? In this film, Ben Affleck is a man whose military father felt that he needed to train his sons to be assassins in order to combat the wishy-washy therapy offered by conventional treatments of Autism. This kid then goes on to become a mathematical genius who does the accounts for mob bosses and ma and pop, and is ready to run and change identity at any time.

Whilst the basic premise for the film could really work, it just doesn’t. The whole thing just doesn’t quite gel. The Accountant works for the bad guys, but also takes down the bad guys. A sub plot of the government trying to catch him ends up making no sense, because of his personal connection with them. A semi-romance that nevers happens is started between Affleck and Kendrick feels tacked on. The bad guy who is killing people systematically fizzles out in a final reveal. It has all the elements, which is a few elements too many.

And most importantly, is it really OK to show that a father basically abusing his suffering kids is good parenting and that autism is some kind of superpower? It’s a muddle, but there are seeds of what might have been here.

See It If: you’re looking for an action film and you don’t mind how much sense it makes, or if you’re an Affleck fan, but it’s not life changing.

9 thoughts on “The Accountant (2016)”

I know that Lynn found this movie a bit intense … she is not as into movies with a lot of noise that you get from gunfire or sudden volume changes. The Casey Affleck movie Manchester by the Sea was a more thoughtful, mature movie example for 2016, in my opinion.

I really would like to see this movie. I’m unsure how I feel about Autism being treated as a super power. On the one had seems like it trivializes real struggle, on the other hand, Jack Reacher is a suppose to be a normal person, but is still basically a superhero. Why can’t the Autism community have that. Probably over thinking things.

I haven’t seen this one yet, but it is getting really mixed reviews. I have seen some that think it is a really awesome film, but also reviews that basically grind it into the ground. I will probably skip this one in the theatre, based on your review, and watch it on dvd when it comes out. I saw Hacksaw Ridge yesterday: talk about a good movie: wow, that one was seriously awesome 😀